Scheme to employ Pacific Islanders to care for our aging population

As we all know, Australia's population is aging. By the middle of this century the number of people aged 85 years and over is expected to increase at least five fold. By 2050 at least 5% of the population will be in this age bracket, including yours truly, assuming that I'm still around.

The question is, who is going to look after us all, once we can no longer look after ourselves?

The trend to have fewer children and for more women to work outside the home means families are less able to look after frail parents - and in future, an increasing amount of aged care will be done by paid workers.

Where will these workers come from? One idea is for Australia to open up pathways for Pacific Island migrants to work in aged care, just as we are currently trialling a system of seasonal labour for Pacific islanders in horticulture.